Psychology of Karma. 12 Benefits for the West. 12 Quotes from the Buddha
Introduction to Karma and Link to five talks etc with Sangha Live
Introduction to Karma
Earliest references to karma appear in the RigVeda text, the oldest Hindu text, around 1500 years BCE. Karma initially referred to actions for religious rituals. The concept developed in the Upanisad texts many centuries later.
The Buddha significantly expanded its meaning into a deep psychology for daily life. He encouraged the dissolution of harmful, unwholesome karma, the development of wholesome karma and knowing a liberating wisdom not dependent on the unwholesome and wholesome.
His teachings gave emphasis to our intentions and volitions as a key feature of karma rather than an exclusive emphasis on action.
In his teachings on karma, he referred to our changing relationship, for the better or not, between intention-action-result, due to karmic conditions.
Application of karma in the East has become associated with religious/spiritual traditions. The West largely ignores karma, including much of the Buddhist tradition rooted here.
Teachings, application and practices of karma and the wisdom beyond karma would bring exceptional benefits to our children/students, family/social life, the work environment and establish ethical/spiritual values for our leaders in every sphere.
Insights into karma contribute to an understanding of ourselves and each other, as we focus with clarity on our intentions (or absence or loss of), subsequent actions and the outcome.
Twelve Benefits of Regular Exploration of Karma in Daily Life
In the Dharma, mind functions as an umbrella concept for:
Feelings
Emotions
Perceptions,
Thoughts,
Views,
States of mind,
Consciousness,
Mindfulness, Attention, Awareness and more.
1. To be clear of arising of the habit of positivity and negativity in your mind. Both expressions of karma can obscure the reality of a situation.
2. If you see others expressing similar karmic behaviour, remember that these patterns reveal clouds from the past in their lives. Such clarity can reduce the tendency to be judgemental.
3. To see the movement of karma makes the movement less personal.
4. When karma lands in the present, it is the consequence of unresolved karma, the fruit of karma, the outcome of karma.
5. Karma can show itself in the mixture of positivity and negativity, wholesome and unwholesome, healthy and harmful.
6. Karma includes building oneself up or putting oneself down. Both kinds of karma can result with experiences of failure.
7. Karma can produce a fruit/consequence/result even if not intended. (You drive a car too fast and you crash).
8. Intention leads to action, which leads to outcome. Karma saves us from believing everything is in our hands. Unexpected conditions can influence our intentions, actions and the outcome.
9. Karma influences intentions due to exaggerating or reducing its significance.
10. Know action free from unsatisfactory influences, habits and conditioning from the past.
11. Teachings and practices on karma can lead to the knowing and seeing the end of karma.
12. Clarity, love and wisdom contribute to action free from any burden, pressure or clinging to the past. which karma reveals.
Twelve of the Buddha’s references to Karma
Here is a selection of the Buddha’s references to karma in the Middle Length Discourses (152 discourses) of the Buddha. You can find numerous references to karma and its consequences in thousands of discourses, short and running to a few pages, in the texts.
Karma refers primarily to the influence, wholesome or unwholesome (healthy or harmful, beneficial or problematic, right or wrong, good or not good) of the past on the present and affecting perceptions and views of the future.
We do not have a parallel word in English for karma. The nearest concept is action.
Karma means action under the influence of shadows, wholesome or unwholesome, positive or negative, from the past or impact in the present from events around us.
Those who express generalisations about karma and groups of people (“It’s their karma”) reveal the karma of crude stereotypes, saying nothing about a group of people.
12 Statements in Karma in MLD
Sutta (Discourse) 4
I understood how beings are affected according to their (unwholesome) karma thus:
"These people, who were ill-conducted in body, speech, and mind, revilers of noble ones (the wise and clear minded) reveal harmful views in their karma.
Sutta 7
A fool may forever bathe (in ‘holy’ water, a ‘holy’ river, forms of baptism using water) will not purify dark karma (for themselves, nor others).
Sutta 12
The Tathagata (One Gone to seeing Suchness of reality) understands as it actually is the
results/consequences of karma undertaken in the past, future, and present, with its possible conditions and causes.
Sutta 14
A yogi meditated intensely day after day. He claimed he was not making new karma and burning out his old karma. Then he would be liberated.
Some traditions of Vipassana teach this view as a primary reason for their meditation
The Buddha questioned this viewpoint. He asked the yogi.
“Do you know that you existed in the past (as you think you did in the past or had past lives)?
“No friend.”
“Do you know you did not exist this way?”
“No, friend.”
“Do you know you engaged in evil (very harmful) karma in the past?!
“No, friend.”
Do you know that you abstained from such harmful karma?'
'No, friend.”
“Do you know how much suffering has already been exhausted (through your meditation).”
“No friend.”
“Do you know how much suffering you have left to exhaust?”
“No, friend.”
“Will you know when you have exhausted all your suffering?”
“No, friend.”
Do you know what unwholesome states you have fully abandoned?”
“No, friend.”
“Do you know what wholesome states you need to cultivate?”
“No, friend.”
The Buddha elsewhere described the view of the yogi that he was not creating and burning up his old karma as “useless effort, useless striving.”
Sutta 33
A fool is characterised by their karma; a wise person is characterised by their actions
In this case, actions (karma not under clouds of influence from the past).
Sutta 54
"Of three kinds of karma thus, analysed and distinguished, I describe mental action as the most reprehensible for harmful action, for the perpetration of harmful action, and not so much bodily action and verbal action."
(The body can only inflict harm on one or few at a time. The mind can decide to inflict suffering on the many, such as starting a war).
"There are four kinds of action proclaimed by me after realising them for myself with direct knowledge.
1. There is dark karma with dark outcome/consequence
2. There is bright karma with bright outcome/consequence
3. There is dark-and-bright karma with dark-and-bright result;
4. There is action that is neither dark, nor bright, with neither-dark-nor-bright result
The fourth kind leads to the end of action. This action expresses wisdom not dependent on karma and result
An Example
1. A person chooses a medicine. It is the wrong medicine bringing about further ill-health.
2. A person takes the right medicine and gets the healthy result.
3. A person takes medicine with healthy benefits and harmful side effects
4. A person takes medicine with wisdom and sees with wisdom the outcome.
The Buddha added
“Contact with bodily, verbal and mental afflictions reappears in an afflictive world.”
Sutta 57
. "What do you think, Rahula (son of the Buddha)? What is the purpose of a mirror?"
Rahula, "For the purpose of reflection."
The Buddha, "Following karma of the body, one engages in regular reflection
“Following karma of speech, one engages in regular reflection
“Following karma of of the mind, one engages in regular reflection.
'Such action that I wish to do with the body, speech or mind would lead to my
own affliction, or to the affliction of others, or to the affliction of both.
“This is the reflection (to change behaviour).”
Sutta 61.
The Buddha addressed Rahula, his son.
"Rahula, any kind of material form whatever, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all material form should be seen as it actually is with proper wisdom thus:
'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.'"
"Only material form?” asked Rahula.
The Buddha replied, “See material form, feelings, perception, mental formations and consciousness and consciousness (in the same way)..
Sutta 79.
A much loved statement worth remembering.
Statement applies to karma and applies to a liberating wisdom not under karmic influence.
‘This’ and ‘that’ refers to causes and conditions.
When this exists, that comes to be.
With the arising of this, that arises.
When this does not exist,
that does not come to be,
with the cessation of this, that ceases.
Sutta 82
While his heirs take over his wealth, this person
Must pass on according to his karma.
And as he dies, nothing can follow him.
Not child, nor wife, nor wealth, nor royal estate.
A dispute arose from the Brahmins,
Concerning the question of birth and caste (class),
The Budha said,
“Bharadvaja says one is a brahmin by birth,
“While I hold one is a brahmin by noble action.”
Sutta 123
The truly wise see karma as it is
See the dependent arising of karma,
Become skilled in seeing karma and its results
Karma makes the world go round,
Karma makes this generation turn.
Living beings are bound by their karma
Like the chariot wheel by the pin.
Sutta 141
On the link of the Eightfold Path for a noble way of life.
What is right (ethical and fulfilling) action? Not killing (nor supporting) killing of living beings, not taking what is not given and not engaging in abuse of sensual/sexual pleasure.
Link to Sangha Live
See link to Sangha Live with talks/guided meditations on Karma on Monday 17 – Friday 21 2025.
Each 60-minute session included a guided meditation on karma, a talk and Q&A.
May all beings dissolve unwholesome karma
May all beings develop wholesome karma
May all beings live with a liberating wisdom.